The common terms
- Payment upon completion: paid when the job is finished. Suits home services and small jobs.
- Advance payment: a part, often 50%, before work starts. Suits jobs where you buy materials first.
- Payment on delivery: paid when the goods are handed over.
- 7, 15 or 30 days: the customer has that many days from the invoice date. Usual for companies with an accounts department.
- Monthly account: one invoice at the end of the month for everything supplied in it.
Choosing terms for your business
Short terms keep cash coming in. Offer longer terms only to customers who have paid you reliably, or where it is the custom of their trade.
For larger jobs, split the payment into stages so that you are never far ahead of what you have been paid.
Wording you can copy
Payment terms: 50% advance upon confirmation and the remaining 50% upon completion of the work. Payment by bank transfer or cash.
Put the terms where they will be seen
- On the quotation, so they are agreed before the work
- On the invoice, with the due date
- With your bank details, so the customer does not have to ask how to pay
How Tichkuly CRM helps
Type your payment terms once and they are printed on every invoice, with your bank details. Each invoice carries its due date, part payments are recorded against it, and unpaid invoices are listed for you to follow up.
Try it: Free invoice generator. Make an invoice PDF now in any currency, no sign-up.